An inkjet printer includes a printhead with a plurality of nozzles through which ink is ejected. Neighboring nozzles on the printhead are separated from one another by a distance that is referred to as the pitch of the printhead. Drops of ink that are ejected from the nozzles may be deposited on a substrate (e.g. paper). A distance between neighboring drops that are deposited on the substrate determines the resolution of the printer (e.g. as measured in units of dots per inch).
During the course of printing, the substrate may be moved longitudinally past a printhead bridge to which one or more printheads are mounted so as to print on various regions of the substrate. In order to enable a resolution that is greater than the resolution that is determined by the pitch of the printhead (e.g. nozzles per inch), the printhead may be moved laterally during the course of printing. Lateral movement of the printhead may enable a nozzle of the printhead to deposit a drop of ink at a lateral position on the substrate. Subsequently, after the nozzle is moved through a distance that is shorter than the printhead pitch, the same nozzle may deposit another drop at another lateral position on the substrate. Thus, the lateral distance between the two drops may be less than the pitch of the printhead.
In some inkjet printers, e.g. in many inkjet printers that are designed for home or office use, longitudinal motion of the substrate past the bridge is halted during lateral motion of the printhead along the bridge. In other high-speed inkjet printers, such as inkjet printers that are designed to print on large substrates, the printhead may be moved along the bridge concurrently with the longitudinal motion of the substrate past the bridge.